Saturday's Shakespeare show is fundraiser

Wednesday

Oct 31, 2007 at 1:18 PM

By Michael KaneBanner Editor

There has been a lot of talk recently about the effort of the West Boylston Arts Foundation's efforts to restore art and music in the West Boylston School District. This Saturday, three West Boylston High School students will put forth their best effort to help the cause.

Jake Sanders, Jared Fancy and Matthew Stoychoff, all students at West Boylston High School, will join cast mate Connor Sampson of Holden for a performance of "Shakespeare Abridged," a two-hour play featuring all of The Bard's plays, performed by only four performers.

"They play all the parts - the boy parts, the girl parts and every part in-between," said Lisa Sanders, chairwoman for the event for the Arts Foundation. "It's hysterical, an absolute riot. It's a very fast-paced show."

The complexity of the play was also cited by Director Kevin Baldwin, who produced the play over the summer with his troupe, K&K Productions. This cast has performed the play at the Salem Covenant Church in Worcester and Anna Maria College.

"It's a high-level of difficulty for adults," Baldwin said. "There is a lot of improvisation, an enormous number of props and costumes."

Although complex, Baldwin said the cast members show skills "above the level you would expect for kids this age."

In May, the actors, who have worked with K&K since 2004, approached Baldwin with the idea of performing the play as a fundraiser for the West Boylston Arts Foundation.

"They (the students) figured it would be a good venue for them, since they already knew what they were doing," Sanders said. "We could not have done this without K&K Productions. Without (Baldwin), we wouldn't have been able to do this. He's been an amazing help getting the rights and getting everything going on this."

While the Arts Foundation has yet to reach its goal of fully funding the programs cut in this year's budget, its work has already had an impact on the school. The middle school band has received funding and a music teacher has been hired for fifth grade at Major Edwards Elementary. By the beginning of the third semester, the goal is to bring back music to the fourth grade as well, Principal Thomas Caruso said last week.

So far, the group has raised almost $22,000 through donations.

"We'd love to have it over and above $50,000 by the beginning of the year," Sanders said. "That would enable us to get the music and art program at the elementary school back to where it was before."

"Shakespeare Abridged," will be performed Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at the West Boylston High School Auditorium. Tickets are available at the door. They are $10, or $8 for students and seniors.

"These are four amazing kids," Sanders said. "They've been together for a long time and it shows. They know what they are doing."